In Iran, the arrests and trials of ‘dissident’ demonstrators are not decreasing. The Iranian regime’s plan to quell the unrest cannot and will not stifle the protests. Resorting to executions, which are taking place in the early hours of the morning, just after the call to morning prayers, the regime is desperate to regain control over the country. 

Four protesters have been executed since early December, with the most recent taking place last weekend – all of whom were young men who the regime had accused of injuring or killing members of the Basij forces. Human rights organizations have spoken of sham trials, far from the basic principles of the rule of law, which these men and many other protesters have been subjected to. 

Lists are circulating online with the names of protesters that have been sentenced to or threatened with the death penalty. On social media, activists and politicians from various European countries are mediating political sponsorships for death row prisoners. More than 250 politicians have now taken on such a sponsorship.  

The protests erupted in September 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing her headscarf too loosely, an act which is considered a holy crime in Iran according to the regime’s fabricated dress code for women.  

In the months following, many violent and loud protests in Iran have found their way into everyday life for many Iranians. A lot of anger has built up in society, especially over the past few years. 

Every day across the country, people take to the streets, mainly young women and men, to stand up empty-handed to the armed henchmen of the Islamic theocracy, who act against them with extreme brutality, as they demand the overthrow of the theocracy. It seems they are not afraid anymore. 

What drives these people to risk their lives to fight against the regime? It is no longer about compulsory headscarves, nor is it just about discrimination against women. The aim of the uprising is far broader. It is about human dignity, about the guaranteed rights of individuals.  

The protests are directed against a regime hypocritically bullying the Iranian people in the name of God for 43 years. The forced hijab, which women demonstratively opposed it, is a symbol against all kinds of oppression, discrimination, and humiliation, not only of women but also of young people, ethnic and religious minorities, and those who think differently. 

The regime has resorted to using brutal violence and executions against the people in their demonstrations for freedom. A fruitless effort as nothing will help, the theocracy’s days are numbered. 

During the latest developments, European politicians have again been discussing sanctions against Iran. Above all, the pressure will be increased on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – the elite military unit that is both an economic empire and the guardian of everything that happens in the regime. 

Opposition groups and activists are demanding that the IRGC be classified as a terrorist organization in Europe, just as the United States has already done. The previous sanctions imposed by the EU against Iran and the appeals to the regime in Tehran to stop violence against its own people do not bother the rulers in Tehran. Far tougher action must be taken without interfering in what is happening in Iran. After all, it is the Iranian people’s decision how to end this regime. 

The Iranian people and their resistance have posed several questions to the international community: Why is the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who bears the main responsibility for everything that happens in Iran, not on the EU terrorist list? And why doesn’t the EU classify the IRGC as a terrorist organization?  

The protests so far have severely cracked the framework of the theocracy, exposed the hypocritical, corrupt men who hide behind turbans and cloaks and have even created divisions within the ranks of the regime’s supporters.  

A return to the times before the uprising is hardly conceivable at this stage. The social division is too great, and the dissatisfaction among the population, which has been suffering from the economic crisis, catastrophic environmental pollution, corruption, censorship, and arbitrariness for years, is beyond fixable. 

Therefore, it’s time for the EU to change its mind, close all the doors to the regime, express its support to the people and start the full isolation of this regime, and put the IRGC on the EU terrorist list.